There Will Be Time
by Elinor Bloomsbury
Summary: He knows she didn’t marry Roy. Gay Witch Hunt postep. Jim and Pam.


Disclaimers: "The Office" and all its characters belong to Greg Daniels, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Deedle-Dee Productions, Reveille Productions, and NBC Universal. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just a person with a bit too much time on her hands and a desire to be maudlin about a comedy show.

Spoilers: Gay Witch Hunt

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**There Will Be Time**

_In a minute there is time_

_ For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse._

_- T.S. Eliot_

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He knows she didn't marry Roy.

The email from Phyllis came on June 7th, just as he finished packing. He wasn't exactly sure what Phyllis expected him to do, but he had a feeling it involved a white horse and a suit of armor of some kind. He read the message six times before shutting off his computer.

The next day he got on a plane to Australia.

It turned out not to be the trip he had planned. Instead of spending the entire time thinking about Pam getting married – what she'd look like in her dress, what Michael would look like on the dance floor – he kept thinking about her not getting married. He couldn't decide which was worse. But he tried to make the best of it. He was in Australia after all. He saw a few kangaroos, failed miserably at his attempts to surf, and ate crab for dinner every night.

When he got back, he started at Stamford. He had met everyone already before he left; Jan recommended he join them for happy hour to break the ice. They all had questions about the Scranton branch, about the film crew, about Michael, about why he left. Letting them believe Michael was the reason was easier than the truth.

It hasn't been so bad now that he's been there for a while. Josh is a different kind of boss than Michael, as in competent, so that's been something to get used to. No one really jokes around or laughs in the office; they all just work.

When a memo comes around telling everyone IT will be installing software that blocks porn sites, it takes every ounce of self control he has not to call Scranton's mainline and find out what Michael did. Because of course, Michael must have done something. But he knows Pam will answer, and he's not ready to hear her voice yet.

They haven't spoken since his impromptu going away party which Michael insisted be held at Hooter's. Their last conversation was awkward and horrible, and she excused herself and left before the boob shaped cake came out. Three weeks later, the wedding was called off.

She didn't want him, he tells himself.

Just because she doesn't want Roy either doesn't mean anything.

He has her new address. Phyllis again. Always the romantic. He knows he could reach out, pick up the phone, send a card, do something, but he already tried that once and look what it got him. A view that's cloudy more than it's clear and a group of co-workers who have never even heard of Dunder Ball.

It'll get better with time, he thinks. He just has to be patient and wait. Because it has to get better.

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At first, she told herself Jim didn't know she called off the wedding.

He must have gone to Australia, she thought, but he'd be back in ten days and then…

But three months have gone by, and she's stopped kidding herself. He knows. And even if he didn't, he certainly read all about it in the latest issue of the office newsletter. "No Chance of Pam Anderson Working Here" the headline read. Michael made sure to include Jim on the mailing list. Pam addressed the envelope to Stamford.

It was easier than she thought it would be – calling off the wedding. There were plenty of phone calls to make, but her mom handled most of those. She put her dress up on eBay for a while, Kelly's suggestion, but the bidding just depressed her and she took it down.

Roy asking chicken or fish makes her feel better each day about her choice. She got food poisoning last summer from a bad plate of salmon and spent half the weekend in the bathroom. She hasn't touched the stuff since. Roy doesn't seem to ever remember this.

All in all, things are going better than she expected. She likes her apartment. It's three rooms, and all the walls are painted white but she has plans to improve it. There's no terrace, but the pathway up to the building has flowerbeds and they're still in bloom.

She really enjoys her art classes. She made the mistake of mentioning her life drawing class needed nude models in front of Michael, and he showed up one Thursday evening, already de-robed and mid pose before any of the students had arrived. Pam has more than one image of Michael burned in her mind, but no one else seems to appreciate these stories.

One Saturday, she's up late adding movies to her Netflix queue and she's having trouble finding a title she's wanted to see. Something about a boy and his dog and circus folk. And before she even realizes it, "Jim would know" slips out. The urge to call him is still there but she's getting better at resisting it.

She plays that night over and over again in her mind, thinking about what else she could have said, what else she could have done.

She's mad at herself for wanting him to come back.

No. She's mad at herself for wanting him to come back for her.

So instead she waits. Waits for the fax to go through. Waits for five o'clock. Waits for the newest episode of "Grey's Anatomy" to air. Waits for the phone call, email, text message that doesn't come.

She waits.

She wishes she wasn't so good at waiting.

the end


End file.
